SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
massimo.difusco
Location of Photo:
Chile
Date/Time of photo:
20/07/2024 00:00
Equipment:
TelescopeLive data: Planewave CDK24, FLI Proline PL9000 camera, LRGB filters
Description:
Messier 6 (M6), also known as the Butterfly Cluster, is a bright open cluster located in the southern constellation Scorpius. It lies in the direction of the galactic centre, at an approximate distance of 1,600 light years from Earth. It was named the Butterfly Cluster by the American astronomer Robert Burnham, who described it as a “charming group whose arrangement suggests the outline of a butterfly with open wings.” The cluster has an apparent magnitude of 4.2 and its designation in the New General Catalogue is NGC 6405. Messier 6 is estimated to be around 94.2 million years old and most of the bright, visible stars in it are hot, young, blue stars belonging to the spectral class B4-B5. However, the brightest star in the cluster is an orange giant belonging to the spectral class K.
